


Music Gives Color

by Annaelle



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex Mercer Has the Brain Cell (Julie and The Phantoms), Boys Kissing, Chemistry, Idiots in Love, Luke and Reggie are Dumbasses, M/M, No beta we die like Sunset Curve, Soulmate AU, Soulmates, based on that scene, you know the one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28800828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annaelle/pseuds/Annaelle
Summary: Reggie hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about soulmates in general. When he’d been alive, it hadn’t even been on his radar—he’d been too caught up in the band, too caught up in Luke’s magnetic enthusiasm for their music to even think about real romantic relationships—and now that they were dead… well, they were dead.Even if he happened to run into his soulmate now, they’d have to be dead too for him to even be able to know. He couldn’t exactly go around kissing lifers.It wasn’t a big deal.Except in all the ways that it was.RUKE SOULMATE AU WHERE YOU SEE COLORS AFTER THE FIRST TOUCH OF YOUR SOULMATES LIPS ON YOURS. REGGIE SEES COLORS AFTER THAT SCENE. YOU KNOW THE ONE. CHEMISTRY IS PROVEN.
Relationships: Luke Patterson/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 247





	Music Gives Color

**Author's Note:**

> HI EVERYONE!
> 
> I wrote this in like three-ish hours. It's one AM 😅 It's probably full of mistakes and both boys are all over the place, but I love the idea of this so much that I couldn't wait for it to be beta'd to post! 
> 
> Apologies for any and all mistakes. 
> 
> Love  
> Annaelle
> 
> PS Comments are love and make my day ❤️

**Music Gives Color**

_“Music gives color to the air of the moment.”  
_ **_– Karl Lagerfeld_ **

**Reggie**

Reggie hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about soulmates in general. When he’d been alive, it hadn’t even been on his radar—he’d been too caught up in the band, too caught up in Luke’s magnetic enthusiasm for their music to even think about real romantic relationships—and now that they were dead… well, they were _dead_.

Even if he happened to run into his soulmate now, they’d have to be dead too for him to even be able to _know_. He couldn’t exactly go around kissing lifers. 

It wasn’t a big deal.

It was much easier now to tease Luke so he could make Alex smile again, to wipe that devastated, hurt look from his face because Alex should _never_ look like that—and Luke was an easy target, really.

It had, however, not been his smartest idea.

 _Chemistry_.

“You guys _ooze_ chemistry.”

“I have chemistry with everyone.”

And the thing was that Reggie _knew_ that Luke wasn’t lying; he and Luke had been sharing a mic on stage for years because people _loved_ their chemistry, because it got the crowd all riled up and it provided them both with a rush of adrenaline so strong it set them bouncing across their stage with the energy of ten hyperactive teenagers.

Reggie _knew_ just how magnetic Luke could be when he set his mind to it because he’d been subjected to it for _years_ , and still, he didn’t quite know how to deal with it, because… because Reggie liked girls—he’d always _loved_ girls.

He loved the cheerleaders with their carefully coordinated routines and athletic bodies and skirts that were so short Reggie’s ears burned when he dared look, and he loved Cara Micheals, who’d sat next to him in English, with short curly hair and bright eyes and a silver lip ring on deep purple lipstick, and many, _many_ of the girls that had attended their gigs and bought them drinks afterwards, that had danced with him and kissed him—

Reggie _really_ liked girls.

But.

 _But_.

He wasn’t blind. His bandmates—both of them, honestly—were unfairly attractive, and the worst of it was that Luke was absolutely 100% _aware_ of it and was not opposed to using it to his advantage, which had led Reggie to his current… predicament.

He shouldn’t have teased Luke, should’ve expected the other boy to find a way to retaliate that would utterly _humiliate_ Reggie—like singing at him, moving closer—closer than he usually stepped when they were sharing a mic, his big, beautiful eyes fixed on Reggie and Reggie _couldn’t breathe_.

Luke’s hand was warm and heavy on the back of his neck and he was _so close_ that Reggie could count his eyelashes if he really wanted to, that he just needed to move forward the tiniest little bit and their lips would be touching—they’d be _kissing_ and Reggie had never wanted to kiss someone so badly in his entire _existence_ —

“Wow,” Alex interrupted, and Reggie was abruptly reminded that there were other people in the world too, that their best friend was watching and _Reggie was straight._

There wasn’t—he didn’t— _why would he want to kiss Luke_?

“That—that was pretty hot,” he squeaked and _God, why_? That _wasn’t_ what he’d been trying to say _at all_ , but it was out there now and Luke was grinning that infuriatingly handsome grin at him, smug and self-satisfied and—and—

And Luke smirked, pulling his hand from Reggie’s neck, pecking the tips of his fingers and pressing those fingers to Reggie’s lips like a brand. The touch of them _burned_ like a brand too, hot and searing and Reggie’s breath caught in his lungs. The world seemed to have slowed to a stop around him, and the familiar hue of Luke’s hair was changing, taking on a different shade of grey than it’d always been, warmer and softer and—and— _oh_.

Oh.

Those were _colors_.

He was seeing colors. _He was seeing colors_.

“Oh my God,” he breathed, his bass slipping from his slack grip, staring at Luke, who turned back to him with a mildly puzzled expression and—and his lips were _pink—_

“Reg?”

His head snapped towards Alex and his breath seized in his lungs again. Alex was looking at him with a concerned expression and Reggie would feel bad about making his friend worry after he’d just managed to make him smile again, but most of his higher brain power—if he ever had any—was occupied with trying to process that Luke had touched his lips and Reggie was _seeing colors._

“Reg,” Luke said quietly, stepping closer again, “It was a joke, bro, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfor—”

“Your eyes are green,” Reggie blurted, and Luke’s eyes went wide with shock and Reggie heard Alex gasp beside him. “Oh my God,” he whispered again, still mesmerized by Luke’s eyes. “Your eyes are green. It’s so beautiful.”

“Wha—how—what?” Luke choked, and that snapped Reggie from his hazy thoughts.

“You—” he swallowed thickly, still unable to take his eyes off of Luke, “You don’t see it?” Something clenched painfully deep in his chest even before Luke shook his head, abrupt and searing and it was only because the other two didn’t move that he realized it wasn’t another one of those jolts—and that was _worse_.

He’d _never_ heard of a soul bond being one-sided, but… but clearly his _was_ , and that made sense because literally anyone with eyes could see how bad Luke had it for Julie, and it wasn’t even like Reggie had ever let himself look at Luke like this before, but now that he _had_ , he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to stop either, even if Luke would want him to.

“I’m sorry,” he choked, shaking his head and taking a step back, finally tearing his gaze from Luke’s eyes, eyes darting around the studio before falling on Alex, who was looking at him with an entirely bewildered expression and that—that was too much, he couldn’t deal with this—

“I gotta,” he choked, “I’m gonna go.”

He poofed out before Luke _or_ Alex could say anything else.

\-----------------------

**Luke**

Luke stood rooted to the spot, staring at the spot Reggie had just poofed away from in stunned disbelief.

“Alex,” he said shakily. “Alex, what just happened?”

When he finally managed to move, to turn so he could look at his other best friend, Alex was staring back at him with wide eyes and an utterly shocked expression. “I—I think—” Alex stuttered, “I think Reggie’s your soulmate. You—he was seeing _colors_ , Luke.”

“But I don’t see anything,” Luke exclaimed desperately, his stomach churning in discomfort. “Everything looks exactly like it always has—how—h—how could that even be if—”

“I don’t know,” Alex shook his head. “I don’t know, Luke, but you—you gotta go after him.”

Luke turned to stare at the spot Reggie had disappeared from again, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach. It wasn’t that the idea of Reggie being his soulmate was a terrible one, or that he couldn’t see himself… falling in love with him—if he were really honest with himself it’d be all too easy to fall in love with his best friend—but… but he’d never _let_ himself consider it because Reggie was about as straight as they came.

Or so he’d thought, anyway.

And then there was Julie to consider too.

Their relationship might be an unusual one, but their connection was real and for all the teasing and denying, Luke _knew_ he had at least a little bit of a crush there too.

What the hell was he supposed to do with this?

“What am I supposed to say to him?” Luke asked, a little desperately, eyeing Alex pleadingly. “I’m sorry I somehow made you see colors but I don’t see any?”

“Luke,” Alex whispered, “You haven’t even kissed him yet. Maybe start there. If you still don’t see colors after that, then… you can cross that bridge when you get to it.” He smiled tremulously at Luke and added, “I know you’ve always been a little… _sweet_ on him, I guess. It’s part of why we broke up. Maybe don’t dismiss this out of hand.”

Luke gaped, and Alex grinned. “Of course I knew, Luke. Now go find Reggie. And don’t come back until you two have sorted this out. I’ll tell Julie what’s going on.”

“You will?!” Luke squeaked, and Alex rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I will, because someone needs to tell her the truth, and you’re going to be busy,” he snorted, sitting back down behind the drums. “Now go.”

Luke nodded shakily, shut his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath before teleporting out of the studio and onto the beach, where he knew Reggie would be, because this was Reggie’s safe spot—this had been Reggie’s safe spot for as long as they’d known each other and Luke didn’t think that’d changed.

He was right.

Reggie was sitting on the sand right by the edge of the water, staring out at the ocean, arms wrapped around his folded legs, chin set on his knees. He looked small and hurt and Luke _hated_ seeing him like this, _hated_ that _he_ had done this somehow, that he had made Reggie feel like this, even if he wasn’t sure _how_ exactly, he’d been able to screw up a soul bond.

He moved closer and sat down next to Reggie, leaving a few inches of space between them, because he didn’t want Reggie to feel uncomfortable or pressured or stifled.

“I wish you could see it,” Reggie whispered, not taking his eyes off the horizon. “I never imagined there were so many shades of blue and green in the ocean, but—it’s amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful before.” When he turned to look at Luke, his eyes were rimmed with red and his cheeks were wet and Luke’s heart _clenched_ , because he’d made Reggie _cry_.

He _hated_ seeing Reggie cry.

“Reg,” Luke whispered, but Reggie shook his head, pulling away already, stumbling to his feet. Luke hastened to follow his example, nearly tripping over his own feet as he followed Reggie halfway up the beach before he managed to stop him.

“I haven’t,” Luke began, “Look, I don’t know—I don’t know what happened, but I know one thing.” Reggie was looking at him with wide eyes, and Luke was terrified, but he forged ahead anyway. “We haven’t kissed. I don’t know why or how we triggered a soul bond before a kiss, but Reg—I haven’t kissed you, so—” he swallowed thickly and glanced down at Reggie’s lips before looking back up at his eyes. “Can—can I?”

Reggie looked unsure if he could talk—a feeling Luke was _intimately_ familiar with—but he gave a jekry nod, keeping his eyes steady on Luke’s, even though the eye contact was so intense Luke wasn’t sure he could stand it.

They stood like that for a moment longer, breaths mingling and eyes locked together. Luke was almost afraid of what would happen when Reggie’s skin touched his, but he didn’t hesitate to take one, final step closer, raising his hands so that the—too rough, too calloused—skin of his palms pressed to Reggie’s flushed cheeks—

There weren’t words to describe the feeling that filled Luke when Reggie’s skin touched his again, but it was overwhelming and _warm_ , and he could’ve _swor_ _n_ he could feel Reggie’s heart, his _li_ _fe—_ even though they were _dead—_ thrumming in the beat of his own heart.

Christ, they hadn’t even kissed yet and Luke already felt like he was going to fall to pieces.

Was this what forming a soul bond felt like?

“Reggie,” he breathed, eyes wide and prickling with unshed tears, tipping forward into Reggie’s arms easily when the other ghost laughed wetly and slipped his arms around Luke’s waist.

“Luke,” Reggie replied shakily, his arms warm and steady around Luke, holding him up and close as Luke pressed his face into the hollow of Reggie’s throat. “You feel that too, right?” Reggie whispered, gasping quietly when Luke sneakily slipped his hand up the back of his shirt, trailing his fingers over the knobs of Reggie’s spine gently, the fingers of his other hand tangling in his hair.

He couldn’t quite believe he was doing this.

He was in Reggie’s arms, holding him, breathing him in and he was _real_ and he was Luke’s soulmate.

Luke’s soulmate had been right in front of him all this time and he hadn’t seen it.

“I’ve been waiting for you for years,” he whispered, half to himself, half to Reggie, but he wasn’t surprised the other boy heard him and pulled back to smile weakly at him. He slipped his hands from around Reggie’s waist to take Reggie’s face in his hands the way he’d never let himself admit he wanted to before. “I can’t believe we didn’t notice this before.”

Reggie grinned and dipped his head forward a little, resting his forehead against Luke’s. “Me either.”

Luke closed his eyes and exhaled blissfully. He hadn’t felt this good in years, and having Reggie’s hands on his skin was a sensation he didn’t really understand he missed until he finally felt it. “I don’t think I ever wanna let you go again,” he blurted impulsively, cheeks flushing immediately with embarrassment, though he refused to let go of Reggie.

“Luke…”

And he couldn’t, he couldn’t let Reggie say anything that would ruin the moment, that would remind Luke of the world beyond their little bubble. Instead he tipped up onto his toes, heart pounding in his chest and nerves burning through his veins as he pressed his lips to Reggie’s.

He held himself stiffly for a moment, unsure of what Reggie would do—for all that they’d admitted they might want this, Luke _really_ wasn’t sure how Reggie would react—and suddenly uncomfortably aware that they were still in _public_ , even if no one else could see them.

He was so caught up in his own head it took him a few long, tense heartbeats to realise that Reggie was kissing him _back_ , and then—

Then Luke stopped thinking altogether.

Reggie’s fingers were slipping up into Luke’s hair as he stepped closer to him, and Luke could _feel_ him, could feel the warmth of his every touch, could feel Reggie’s nerves and excitement and couldn’t get enough. They parted for a split-second, barely long enough to _breath_ _e—_ even though they didn’t need to anymore—before Luke surged up again and slipped his arms around Reggie’s neck, pressing himself against his… his _soulmate_.

Reggie was his _soulmate_. 

Reggie, on his end, didn’t even hesitate, didn’t question if they should stop, should slow down. Instead, he moaned quietly against Luke’s lips and opened his mouth, and the kiss went from passionate but contained to _searing_ hot, and all Luke could do was fist a hand in Reggie’s hair and hold on as best as he could. He held on, because he was still _so scared_ that if he let go, if he opened his eyes, his world would still exists in various shades of grey, and it would it would turn out Reggie wasn’t his soulmate.

Reggie seemed to _know_ , seemed to understand Luke’s fear and apprehension better than Luke did, and slowed the kiss before he leaned back, rubbing his thumb across Luke’s lower lip gently. “I have to know too, Luke,” he said quietly, the words breathed into the miniscule space between them. “Please open your eyes. Tell me this is real.”

Luke’s dead heart stuttered at the words, and he exhaled shakily, leaning his forehead against Reggie’s, eyes squeezed shut for a moment longer before he opened his eyes.

“Oh,” he breathed, feeling like the air was punched out of his lungs.

He stared at Reggie’s eyes.

“You’re right,” he whispered, a watery grin spreading across his lips. “Green really is beautiful.”

And Reggie gaped at him for a second, smiling wonderously and awed, before he lunged at Luke again, wrapping his arms around the other boy in a tight, desperate embrace, pressing their lips together again. “Luke,” he gasped against the other ghost’s lips, digging his fingers into Luke’s shoulders. “Luke, you’re my _soulmate_. Luke, I’m not _straight._ ”

Luke couldn’t help but laugh at that, delighted and exhilarated, and Reggie almost _whined_ when he pulled back a little, and Luke felt absurdly, intensely gratified to see Reggie’s pupils blown so wide the black nearly eclipsed the green altogether. “Reggie,” Luke said, voice rough and breathless. “I love you.”

“Oh,” Reggie choked, before leaning in to kiss him again, messy and eager and excited. “Me too. I love you too, Luke.”

**FIN.**

**BASED ON THIS SCENE:**


End file.
